Journal Entry - June 15, 2008 Underway to Noumea, New Caledonia

Author: Pam

It is 0300 and I am on my second watch for tonight. We are back on the high seas again (but thankfully they are flat calm) making our way from Koumac on the north end of New Caledonia to Noumea on the sound end. It is not a passage we were planning to make, actually we were "planning" to be off to Vanuatu about now. But, there is the reminder that sailors don't have plans, they have intentions. The passage is 158 miles, we are hoping to be able to anchor tonight somewhere inside the reef and then make our way into Port Moselle early Monday morning.

Speaking of the reef, we are traveling to Noumea on the outside of the barrier reef that surrounds the entire island, it is 1600 km long. We learned from Nathaniel that New Caledonia's reef is about to be added to the same list of heritage natural wonders as the likes of the Great Wall of China. They are also in the process of exploring setting up an Observatory to monitor the effects of global warming on the reef as well as other important information for keeping this incredible reef alive. As we were leaving Koumac we were both once again in awe of the size of the Northern Lagoon, it is huge. The final scene as you approach the exit to the pass is a tiny island with white sand and two palm trees. It looks like the perfect deserted island right out of a movie.

We spent the past three days continuing to dry out Starship and her contents. It is one heck of a reminder of how much stuff you have on board when you have to empty all of the contents of every locker to get to the wet stuff on the bottom. Thankfully we didn't have too many casualties due to water damage and honestly in the end it could have been a lot worse. Probably easier to say that today, then it was a few days ago.

The weather in Koumac has been beautiful, especially Saturday morning before we left. We walked to town to buy some fresh bread and to get the ice cream (Coconut and Dark Chocolate Magnum) Scott had been hanging for since Thursday. The road to town winds along the lagoon for a ways and we were in awe of how the sky and the water were exactly the same color blue giving the illusion there was no separation. It has been sunny with blue skies in the 70's since we arrived, actually perfect weather for drying out a very soggy boat, her contents and crew.

The highlight on Friday was a visit to the small Poisson Marche (fish market) located next to the Koumac Marina. We are back in the land of tuna and "Fish Girl" couldn't be more excited. We tried to get fish on Monday, but we were told they didn't have any and to try on Friday. So, right after breakfast we headed over only to find the gate closed. Hmmm, we weren't sure what to make of that. So, we went around to the restaurant where they speak some English to find out what they might know. Well, they did know the fishing boats had just returned, but they didn't know when the market would be open, but they thought perhaps in the afternoon.

Our fish mission was interrupted by the other task for the day, which was to fill the jerry cans with fuel. There is a fuel dock, but it would have been essentially the same experience as docking on a stone wall and that would be on the top of the list of things we don't like to do. In the end, it was much easier to make two trips with our six jerry cans, putting six into the fuel tank and then storing them full. It is especially easy, since we have discovered "The Rattler" our nifty new siphon for transferring diesel from the jerry cans into the fuel tanks without (almost) spilling a drop. That piece of hose has become my new best friend.

Once we were finished with getting fuel, which incidentally and surprisingly is cheaper in New Caledonia than in Australia, we headed back over to the fish market. The gate was still closed, but the threat of tofu for dinner had Scott in a very motivated and I must say brave mood. We passed through the opening to the left of the gate and approached the closed blue door where supposedly there might be some tuna. Scott turned the door handle and voila the door opened expelling a draft of cold air, but exposing white cases that could very well house fresh fish. Once inside we were greeted by a person dressed in what looked like a surgical outfit over a warm jacket and rubber boots. I say a person, because we never figured out if it was a man or a woman. Our little experience at the fish market is an example of what we love about this adventure. We know the word for Tuna in French (Thon) which was a good start. After we communicated that we wanted to buy some Thon, we were lead to a poster of the tuna family and shown our options, we only had to get to yellow fin and we were good. We were then shown our choices from the freezer, we made our selection and paid our 745 pacific francs (about $8.25 US). We were asked if we from New Zealand or Australia and when we said American, we were rewarded with a huge smile. As (he or she) put our tuna in a bag, he/she went to the freezer and took out another package and added it to our purchase. It was a simple, heartfelt gesture that was hugely appreciated. We went back to the boat feeling like we had just won the lottery, especially Scott since tofu was off the menu and sushi was on.

I made sushi rice for the first time and we cut up one of the steaks for Niguiri (raw tuna pieces on rice). We then threw the other two steaks on the BBQ for three minutes and ate that with baked potatoes. It was a feast for sure. Look out, there is a fish market next to the marina in Noumea. There is definitely more Thon in my future, but tofu will be slipped in soon much to Scott's dismay.

There was a beautiful three quarter moon tonight shining down on Starship making it a very friendly night at sea. The moon has gone down while I have been writing this journal entry, the sun will be on its way up before I can go to bed for my last three hours of sleep. The wind was on our nose and has clocked around in the middle of the night to directly behind us. It is light and variable and no good for sailing, so Starship's iron kitten is purring away as we are making 7 knots of VMG towards Noumea. The sea is almost like glass, a very welcome and different scene from a week and half ago. It would be perfect if we could be sailing, but getting there dry wins this time.